The Overlook Press was formed in 1971 by Peter Mayer who had worked at Avon and Penguin Books, where he was chief executive officer from 1978 to 1998.

[1] Overlook has more than one thousand titles in print, including fiction, history, biography, drama, and design.

Their publishing program consists of nearly 100 new books per year, evenly divided between hardcovers and trade paperbacks.

Imprints include Tusk Books, whose format was designed by Milton Glaser.

[2] Mayer died in 2018, and Abrams Books purchased The Overlook Press.